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TCU

09/15/2014

On the Big 12 football coaches' conference call today, TCU head coach Gary Patterson made a benign comment that was quickly miscontrued as a slam on Minnesota, and the Big 10.

Gary was asked about his team's new offense, and specifically the impact of first-year co-offensive coordinators Sonny Cumbie and Doug Meachem.

Gary said: "I have no idea. We played a Samford and now we played a Big 10 team."

Those two sentences alone went viral, and the Internet people thought Gary was making a dig at a power conference that has struggled so far this season; there are no Big 10 teams ranked in the top 10 in the latest AP poll. For GP to make a dig, he usually thinks about it. This was not a dig.

Gary sent me the following text message to clarify:

"Wasn't meant that way at all. I wouldn't take a shot at a best friend (Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill).Only meant we have played two games period. Lots of football ahead - that's all I meant."

09/09/2014

He was hired away from Hawaii to be the savior of SMU football but in the end June Jones never was the fit in Dallas that the school needed to make the program nationally relevant. On Tuesday, June resigned after his team's 0-2 start that included blowout losses to Baylor and North Texas by the combined score of 88-6.

Maybe it was his disagreement with the school over lowering academic standards for football players, or his flirtation with Arizona State, but this relationship was one that was better in theory than in reality.

Other than the 2009 season, when SMU finished 8-5 and made the Hawaii Bowl for the program's first postseason appearance and win since the Death Penalty, the June Jones era never hit the highs the program wanted he was hired in 2008. SMU was 36-43 in six-plus seasons with three winning records.

This remains a difficult job that the new realities of college football have only made dramatically more challenging since June accepted the position. Fan support at Ford Stadium in Dallas is sporadic at best, and the affiliation with the American Athletic Conference makes a team like SMU pretty much out on any chance of reaching the final four.

When June was hired he had just taken Hawaii to the BCS and the Sugar Bowl. At the time, second-tier conference schools such as Hawaii, Boise State, Utah and TCU were getting into BCS games. SMU hired June with the idea that he could do for the Ponies what Gary Patterson did for TCU.

While TCU was winning the Rose Bowl and accepting an invite into the Big 12, SMU was flirting with six wins and lower bowl eligibility.

With the Power Five Conferences running college football, it will take a perfect season plus political pressure and a miracle to crack this new final four for SMU, or any team not in the country club.

It never looked like June wanted to be at SMU for any other reason than to collect a huge check, coach on game days, and to play golf and go home. SMU needs a highly motivated, creative and tireless worker to make the program relevant and successful again.

June Jones was not a failure by any means, and his teams provided a few memorable moments from a bowl win to defeating TCU in Fort Worth, but overall this was a hire that was not the type of hit the school needed.

08/29/2014

FORT WORTH, Texas - David Pollack is a relative newcomer to ESPN as an analyst, but the man is not short on opinions. God love him. Pollack is in Fort Worth as part of ESPN's Game Day coverage that is in Sundance Square for the Cowboys Classic featuring No. 1 Florida State vs. Oklahoma State. (#FloridaSt. #OklahomaState)

I asked Pollack which among the teams in Texas has the best chance to reach college footbal's Final Four.

"Baylor (#Baylor) has a shot. In the Big 12, there are a lot of teams that offensively that have a lot of question marks and you don't with them," Pollack said. "Their strength is so strong it doesn't matter if your weakness is a little bit of defense. They are deeper in the defensive front seven and they are better. The back end will be interesting because they lost some guys. I think they will be fine.

"Offensively, they are going to be so hard to stop."

I asked if he thought Baylor can defeat Oklahoma (#Oklahoma), even though the game is in Norman.

"Absolutely," Pollack said. "I'm not necessarily the biggest Oklahoma supporter. I'm not buying Oklahoma. Their schedule is awesome. The only team they play on the road with an above .500 record is Texas Tech. (Quarterback) Trevor Knight does not show me enough. When has Oklahoma delivered? Oklahoma is going to have to show me they can be consistent. That's what we are used to with Landry Jones and them putting up crazy numbers."

The rub for Pollack is that among the Power Five conferences, despite Baylor's strength he does not think the Bears a lock for the Final Four. Pollack believes Florida State is a given, as are teams from the SEC and Pac 12. That leaves one team from the Big 12 and Big 10.

"I don't see a team that I am hitching my wagon to," Pollack said. "I don't have a Big 12 team in the Final Four."

08/09/2014

In handling the case surrounding TCU defensive end Devonte Fields, the university wanted to do the following:

1.) Dismiss him from the university for repeated violations. 2.) Put him in a position so he could immediately transfer to another NCAA school where he could continue to play football, and his education.

The problem is that No. 1 does not allow No. 2.

Fields' plan to transfer to Stephen F. Austin died when the school learned that the defensive end does not meet the requirements for a one-time transfer. Now, both TCU and Fields are stuck.

TCU has been criticized for "blocking" Fields ability to transfer. This is not a deliberate attempt to block Fields from playing at FCS Stephen F. Austin. This sounds more like a case of rules, and a "Sorry, these are the rules. It happens."

The reason Fields does not meet the requirements for a one-time transfer is because of repeated violations of behaviors outlined in the university student-handbook. The school wanted to do right by the kid, and adhere to its own policies. That means he has to sit out a year by NCAA rule.

TCU has said in a statement that Fields' status as a student remains unchanged, and that is he "separated". What Fields must do, and it sounds as if this is the longest of long-shots, is successfully appeal TCU's original decision not to allow him to return to school.

The problem for TCU is that it if it removed his "separation" tag, then - technically - he should be at TCU. Because Fields has several incidents on his record since he arrived at TCU in 2012, the school does not want to send any message that repeat violators will be tolerated. School officials are likely to remain unchanged on their position because of the nature of the injuries sustained to Fields' ex-girfriend in a domestic dispute the two had several weeks ago.

According to multiple sources, TCU did not want to block Fields from playing elsewhere, but the school also wanted to make sure he was dismissed. Other schools had inquired about Fields' eligibility, but were told he would have to sit out one year to play again at an NCAA program.

Fields had successfully regained his academic eligibility with work in summer school, clearing one necessary hurdle to play at any NCAA school. That was when SFA stepped in. Once the school learned of the "separation" from TCU, however, the plan ended.

A compelling argument can be made that TCU should have made an exception because it knew Fields was leaving, and let him begin the process of trying to put his life together. An equally compelling argument can be made that, at some point, rules are indeed rules.

Depending how many credit hours has earned at TCU, Fields could potentially follow the Cam Newton Route and play at a junior college this fall.

In the spring of 2009, the then-Florida QB was reportedly going to be expelled from that school for academic misconduct. In the fall of '08, he had been arrested for buying a stolen computer. Those charges were later dropped after he completed a program for first-time offenders.

Newton transferred to Blinn College where he played for one season, and then transferred to Auburn for one season. He led Auburn to a National Championship, and was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft. Newton is currently the starting quarterback for the Carolina Panthers.

Another possibility is that Fields does not play this season, and prepares for the 2015 NFL draft. To sit out, however, would essentially mean he will have missed both the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He played in three games in 2013 because of a foot injury.

08/07/2014

DALLAS, Texas - Finishing 4-8 does not lend itself to many positives, but on closer look there is a good reason to believe why TCU will finish with a winning record and better than its projected finish of seventh in the Big 12.

TCU was 4-8 last season, but "in" seven games. The "other" games that were decided before the fourth quarter - SE Louisiana, SMU, Kansas, OK State, Texas - the Frogs were 3-2.

"In" meaning they were either ahead, tied, or close in the fourth quarter of seven games. The Frogs' record in those games was 1-6:

1. Aug., 31: LSU 37, TCU 27 TCU trailed 30-27 with 7:30 remaining, but chased this game from the beginning. At no point did it feel like LSU would lose.

2. Sept. 12: Texas Tech 20, TCU 10 The game was tied at 10 in the fourth quarter. TCU out-gained Tech 401 to 336, but could not take the lead in a game that it felt like it should have won.

3. Oct. 5: Oklahoma 20, TCU 17 TCU trailed 13-10 after three quarters, but at no point did it feel like they were going to win this game.

4. Nov. 2: West Virginia 30, TCU 27 (ot)This was a game TCU should have won, but deserved to lose considering how it played. The Frogs needed 10 points in the final three minutes to force OT against a bad West Virginia team at home.

5. Nov. 9: TCU 21, Iowa State 17A dog-ugly game throughout; TCU led 14-7 at the half. ISU led 17-14 in the fourth quarter before TCU won it on a short touchdown run with 38 seconds remaining.

6. Nov. 16: Kansas State 33, TCU 31The Frogs grabbed the lead late, but allowed a last-second field goal to lose.

7. Nov. 30: Baylor 41, TCU 38This was the upset TCU should have had; Baylor returned two interceptions for touchdowns, and scored 21 points off turnovers. The Frogs were driving late but QB Casey Pachall threw another pick in the endzone to end the game.

If the results from just a few of those types of games flip for TCU in 2014, this should be a seven or eight-win team.

"I believe we can win every game," TCU safety Sam Carter said. "Those are in the past. We were close, but close doesn't get you anything. Those teams beat us. If we were close, we would have won. I am not big on, 'Oh, you were an inch short so it's OK that you lost.' Be an inch above."

Carter refused to buy my theory that those seven close games in 2013 are a positive for this team in 2014.

"You can look at it that way, but if I do that I would look at my whole life and say, 'What if I had done this or what if I had done that?'" Carter said. "We went 4-8 for a reason."

Snyder said: "We've sold out to the cameras over there, and TV has made its way, and I don't fault TV. I don't fault whoever broadcasts games. They have to make a living and that's what they do, but athletics -- that's it. It's sold out."

Few schools sold out to the cash of college football more than Kansas State - thanks to Snyder's incredible direction; because there is a proven correlation between a successful football program and increased applications and enrollment.

It is stupid to think that a prospective student is influenced where he/she may attend school based at all on a football team that plays 12 games a year, six at home.

It is stupid to think a university is easily able to raise hundreds of millions of dollars on a facility that is used six to 10 times a year. Education? Who cares - we're talking about a nice place to watch Baylor play Incarnate Word.

Snyder said: "Everybody is building Taj Mahals, and I think it sends the message -- and young people today I think are more susceptible to the downside of that message, and that it's not about education. We're saying it is, but it's really about the glitz and the glitter, and I think sometimes values get distorted that way. I hate to think a young guy would make a decision about where he's going to get an education based on what a building looks like."

And few states have followed that better than the Great State a Texas.

Since 2000, when SMU opened the new Ford Stadium, eight universities in Texas have combined, or are committed to, spend a well over $1 billion on football stadiums.

In this down economy, the state of Texas has spent more than $1 billion on facilities to play a football game. And this figure does not include weight rooms, academic centers, etc. And this figure does not include payouts to coaches who were fired. And this figure does not include high school football stadiums that are broken.

Snyder talks about priorities ... here you go:

SMU: Ford Stadium (new)$42 million

University of Houston: TDECU Stadium (new) $120 million

Texas A&M: Kyle Field (expansion)$450 million

TCU: Amon G. Carter Stadium(remodel) $164 million

Baylor University: McLane Stadium (new)$250 million

North Texas: Apogee Stadium (new) $78 million

University of Texas: Memorial Stadium (remodel/upgrades/expansion) $60 million

Fields, who was named the Big 12's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year last week, had been removed from the team while the police investigation continued. He turned himself in on July 24 on charges of assault with bodily injury of a family member.

The original affidavit said that Fields lunged at his ex-girlfriend in a domsetic dispute at 3:30 a.m. on July 20 in a house near TCU. The affidavit from that evening also said his ex-girlfriend believed Fields had a handgun. According to the police report, the ex-girlfriend told authorities that she thought Fields pointed at gun at her and said, "I should blast you!"

There is no mention in this report that the ex-girlfriend has backed off her claims that Fields struck her.

Fields admitted to being at the house, but denied ever assaulting his ex-girlfriend.

The original affidavit, while not flattering, just barely contained enough outs and ifs that if (when) this story changed TCU could bring Fields back.

A high-ranking TCU administrator told me last week that if any part of this report was true, there was no way they would bring Fields back. Now, however, this new report makes it possible for a return. If Fields did indeed strike his ex-girlfriend, how can they bring him back? They shouldn't. Regardless of the rampant rumors and allegations around TCU right now regarding the circumstances of that evening, to work aroud the type of assualt alleged in the original report is nearly impossible. Nearly.

If she had not recanted on the gun, there is no way for his return. With assault, as the Ravens are witnessing with running back Ray Rice, TCU can suspend Fields, send him to counseling, rehab him, etc. and ride it out.

Since he arrived at TCU, Fields, 20, has been a dynamic player who has had trouble with a variety of issues. He was the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year as a true freshman. Head coach Gary Patterson suspended him last season for a violation of team rules before he suffered an injury that ended his season.

The athletic director, Chris Del Conte, is a big believer in second, third, fourth or fifth chances. And he would be a big believer in second, third, fourth and fifth chances even if Fields was not good at sacking quarterbacks. That is Del Conte's personality for everybody, not just athletes.

Gary Patterson wants to win games, and help kids. Can you win with Devonte Fields if he is a distraction? If he returns, bet big they will hide him far away from any camera other than on game days.

Fields is already projected as a first round NFL draft pick in 2015, assuming he comes out early, and all TCU would have to do is "keep him clean" for the fall. He would then drop out to prepare for the draft, and would no longer be TCU's problem.

Fall practice is about to begin, and the PR door is open for GP, CDC and TCU to consider bringing Fields back for another shot.

07/21/2014

DALLAS, Texas - Not surprisingly, wide receiver Brandon Carter's career at TCU is pretty much over.

TCU head coach Gary Patterson said of the receiver, who in April was arrested on possession of marijuana (which was dropped), that Carter "Probably will not play this year. Academically he will not make it."

I asked GP if he hoped Carter would remain at TCU to regain eligibility and pursue his football career.

"No. He has a redshirt year and I think the best thing for him is to get a new start," he said. "It's setting a precedent - you have to go to school."

This is not for a lack of effort on the part of GP, or TCU. Even after his arrest in April, they tried to bring Carter along, but it just never worked. There were major maturity issues, not to mention a home situation for Carter that is far from great.

This is a sad ending for a player who had such high expectations when he signed with TCU. He was a *five-star recruit who picked TCU over Oklahoma. In three seasons - 2011 to 2013 - Carter caught 90 passes for 1,312 yards with nine touchdowns. As good as he was, he always left you wondering how much more there was.

"Both sides tried. Brandon did and we did. He has a chance out there someday," Patterson said. "He can still get his degree and do what he needs to do and still come out a winner."

* There is a great debate to exactly how many stars were behind Carter's name as a high school recruit. The vast majority insist it was no more than 4. My recollection was that Carter was a five when he was orally committed to Oklahoma, but became a four when he switched to TCU.

Beginning July 1, all USC athletic scholarships in those three sports will be four years. The rule was limited to those three sports because they are defined as "revenue" sports (cue dismay at women's basketball classified as revenue producing).

The previous practice under NCAA laws allowed its member schools to grant scholarships based on one-year renewals. It seldom happened, but the agreement allows teams to dump a player to create a scholarship for someone the coach liked more.

When an athlete-student commits to a school, and more specifically a coach, it is almost universally accepted the agreement is four years. When a coach leaves, or is fired, that changes everything. What happens more often is the coach will not cancel the scholarship, but bury the kid on the bench in hopes they transfer.

The theory, for Haden, is that taking away any perceived threat that a student-athlete will not have that scholarship the next academic year will entice them to attend USC.

Whether or not this decision will start a trend remains to be seen.

"I think Northwestern started that a few years ago. It's something I am looking at," TCU director of athletics Chris Del Conte told me. "You have to look at all of those things. USC did it, and from my perspective I am trying to see the lay of the land on multi-year scholarships, unlimited meals, cost of attendance ... all of these things are under review. They all have financial consequences, and unintended consequences. I'm trying to see what those are before we make any type of decision on something like this.

"Listen, we just got here (to the Big 12), so I'm just trying to catch up and see how it all fits."

Should TCU follow USC's decision and grant four-year scholarships to football, men's and women's basketball players? It can't hurt, but it likely won't make much of a difference between landing the special players athlete-students they need to win.